


Kennedy

by SpiritAlpha



Series: Thirteen and Susan [3]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Buzzfeed Unsolved References, Companions Meet Companions (Doctor Who), Gen, Jack Harkness Flirts, John F. Kennedy Assassination, Thirteenth Doctor Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:34:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21682309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpiritAlpha/pseuds/SpiritAlpha
Summary: Dallas, Texas. 1963. The Doctor, Graham, Yaz, Ryan and Susan arrive one day before the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and team up with an old friend to stop an old foe from changing the timeline.
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor & Jack Harkness, Thirteenth Doctor & Susan Foreman, Thirteenth Doctor & The Doctor's TARDIS, Thirteenth Doctor & Yasmin Khan & Graham O'Brien & Ryan Sinclair
Series: Thirteen and Susan [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1485770
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

**Dallas, Texas, 1963**

"Here we are!" Idris exclaimed, leading the Doctor, Graham, Yaz, Ryan and Susan out of the TARDIS. "We've been to the future, we've been to the present, now we've come to the past. Texas. 1963."

"This is crazy," Graham said. "I'm currently a three-year-old back in Essex."

"Grandfather and I are in Shoreditch," said Susan. "We're due to fly off with Ian and Barbara on the 23rd November 1963." Yaz and Ryan wandered a few feet away, still in view of the others.

"The day that humanity met the Doctor," said Idris.

"Doctor," Yaz said, holding a newspaper as she and Ryan walked back over to them. "Look at the date. November 21st 1963. Are we in Dallas, Texas?"

"Yes, we are," replied Idris. The Doctor looked at her.

"Did you bring us here deliberately?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Perhaps," said Idris.

"Urgh! What's the point in having you if you don't tell me what's going on?" asked the Doctor.

"What's the point in having _you_ if you don't work out what's going on?" asked Idris. The Doctor turned to Susan, Graham, Yaz and Ryan.

"Ok," she said. "You lot stay together, go and explore. Idris and I will try and figure out what's going on."

"You'll be ok?" asked Susan.

"We'll be fine." The Doctor replied. "Just have to make sure that history stays on track."


	2. Chapter 2

Susan sensed the familiar energy signature of a fellow time traveller and led Graham, Yaz and Ryan towards an alleyway. She pulled her gun out.

"Whoever you are, come out!" she called out. "I'm armed!" A tall man wearing a long light grey trench coat stepped out of the shadows with his hands up.

"From one time traveller to another, I'm not a threat," he replied, with an American accent.

"We've landed one day before the JFK assassination," she replied. "The only reason for that is if someone is trying to sabotage it."

"That's why I'm here as well." The man replied. "I picked up signals radiating from this point in time." Looking at his face, Susan lowered her gun

"Wait a minute, I know you," she said. "You're a friend of the Doctor. So are we." The man grinned and offered his hand.

"Captain Jack Harkness, and who are you?"

 _Stop it!_ The Doctor's voice immediately said, telepathically. From the looks on Graham, Yaz and Ryan's faces, they had also heard it. Jack sighed.

"I was just saying hello," he said.

"I assume you do that enough that her response is to automatically tell you to stop it?" asked Susan.

"Yes, I do," replied Jack.

"Susan Foreman. Or Campbell, whichever name you want to use," she replied.

"Susan Campbell?" he asked. "22nd century? Helped the Earth Council rebuild Earth after the first Dalek invasion?"

"That's me," she said, nodding. "Captain Jack Harkness, 51st century, former conman and Time Agent. I looked up all of the Doctor's former companions on the UNIT database."

"New friends?" Jack asked, looking behind her. "Hi. Captain Jack Harkness..."

"Stop it!" Susan exclaimed. "Oh, great. Now I've turned into Grandmother again."

"Grandmother?" asked Jack.

"I'm Graham O'Brien," said Graham. "This is Yasmin Khan and Ryan Sinclair."

"Pleasure to meet you all," said Jack. "So, it looks like we're all here for the same reason." He looked at Susan. "You called the Doctor 'Grandmother'?"

"Oh, yes, didn't I mention?" asked Susan, knowing perfectly well that she didn't. "I'm the Doctor's granddaughter."

"Ok, I'm honourable enough to not flirt with a member of the Doctor's family," he replied.

"I don't mind if you do," she replied. "I'm not married anymore. I can flirt with whoever I want."

"So, you're being a rebellious granddaughter and flirting with someone your grandmother doesn't want you to flirt with?" Jack asked.

"Yes, I am," she replied, nodding. They grinned at each other.

* * *

The Doctor also sensed Jack's energy signature coming from the same direction as Susan, Graham, Yaz and Ryan's. She didn't know who it was until she heard seven very familiar words.

" _Captain Jack Harkness, and who are you?_ "

 _Stop it!_ She automatically sent, telepathically. She accidentally broadcast it to Graham, Yaz and Ryan as well as Susan and Jack.

"What is Jack doing here?" she asked.

"The same reason we are," replied Idris. "To make sure that tomorrow goes as planned." She looked up. "Speaking of which, I'm detecting more artron energy in this abandoned warehouse."

"Of _course_ it's an abandoned warehouse!" said the Doctor. She and Idris entered and saw a man with his back turned to them. He turned around and they froze. "Krasko."

"Doctor," Krasko said. He looked at Idris. "I don't think we've been introduced."

"My name is Idris," Idris replied. "I am someone else who cares deeply about keeping the timeline straight."

"Just so we're clear." The Doctor said. "When was the last time we saw each other?"

"London, 23rd century," he replied.

"Good," she said, nodding. "We're meeting in order, then. I'd ask what you're doing here, but I think that's obvious. Any particular reason you don't want JFK to be assassinated?" Krasko shrugged.

"I felt like annoying you," he replied. The Doctor rolled her eyes.

"Trust me, I've had enough people deliberately annoying me," she said. She moved forward and Idris got ready to pull her back if necessary. "So, should I even bother trying to convince you to get out of this time zone?"

"No." he replied, smirking and shaking his head.

"Thought not," she said. "So, you want to prevent the JFK assassination for...some reason...and I want to keep history on track. Remember the last time you tried to interfere with history? I defeated you. I'll defeat you again." He smiled.

"And just like last time, good luck with that," he said. "I learn from my experiences, Doctor."

"As do I." she replied. _Susan, get everyone to the TARDIS. We know who's interfering._

 _Ok._ replied Susan.

 _And for Rassilon's sake, I do not want to see Jack flirting with you!_ She could almost see Susan rolling her eyes.

 _Grandmother, I can flirt with whoever I want._ she said.

* * *

Elsewhere in the city, Susan received the telepathic message from the Doctor and turned to Graham, Yaz, Ryan and Jack.

"We need to go back to the TARDIS," she said. "Grandmother knows who's interfering with the timeline." They started to walk off towards the TARDIS. She looked at Jack. "As I expected, she just told me that she doesn't want to see you flirting with me. As I told you earlier, and as I told her just now, I can flirt with whoever I want."

"But isn't he a bit young for you?" Graham asked. Susan and Jack looked at him, smiling. "Unless he's older than he looks, like you and the Doc?"

"Oh, I've lost track of how old I am now," said Jack. "Doc?"

"Grandmother doesn't mind being called 'Doc' now," said Susan. "I heard that you're immortal. I can't imagine how the TARDIS dealt with that."

"I was killed by a Dalek and then I was brought back to life," he replied. "The TARDIS went to the end of the universe to try and throw me off. I was holding onto the outside of the TARDIS as she flew through the time vortex."

"You did?" she asked. "And you survived?" He nodded.

"It's how my immortality works. I die and then I come back to life. That's why my age is over...whatever it is."

"I don't know how old Grandmother is, but she said that she spent four and a half billion years in a time loop," replied Susan. "I'm in my early two hundreds."

"You're looking good," said Jack, grinning.

"Thank you," she said, smiling back. "You're not looking too bad yourself." They arrived back at the TARDIS.

"Can you cut down on the flirting a bit?" Ryan asked.

"I can't help it," said Jack, holding his arms out. "I have pheromones which make me naturally nice-smelling and attractive to others." Graham, Yaz and Ryan all made a face.

"I can think of lots of things that are wrong with that," Yaz said.

"Yaz is a police officer, Jack," Susan said, as he opened his mouth to respond. "Don't bother." He closed his mouth and nodded.

"Captain Jack Harkness!"

Susan, Jack, Graham, Yaz and Ryan turned around and saw the Doctor and Idris walking towards them.

"Doctor!" Jack exclaimed. He and the Doctor grinned and hugged each other. "It's good to see you."

"You too," she said. They pulled out of the hug and looked at each other.

"Love the new look!" he said, nodding.

"Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself," she said. He looked around her, saw Idris and grinned.

"Hi there," he said, walking forward. "Captain Jack Harkness..."

"Stop it!" Jack and Idris ignored her.

"I'm Idris," Idris replied, smiling back and shaking his hand. Being in proximity to her ship made her outfit change back to her Victorian dress. Jack looked at it, confused. "And you don't have to worry about the Doctor and I treating you the way we did last time we met on Utopia. After having Clara Oswald jumping into the Doctor's timestream to save him from the Great Intelligence, you being a fixed point in time isn't a problem."

"Thanks," said Jack. "Hang on a minute..." He looked from Idris to the TARDIS then back to Idris. "Are you the TARDIS?"

"Time and Relative Dimension in Space," replied Idris, grinning. "That's me. I'm the TARDIS." Jack grinned and saluted.

"Ma'am," he said. "You know, for a space-time machine you're looking pretty good."

"Thank you, Captain," Idris said.

"Jack!" The Doctor exclaimed, having seen the cheeky grin on Susan's face. "Stop flirting with my granddaughter and my TARDIS!" Jack put his hands up and Susan and Idris half laughed, half groaned at how protective the Doctor was. "Everyone, into the TARDIS." Susan, Graham, Yaz, Ryan, Jack and Idris went in and the Doctor closed the door behind her.

"Oh, you've redecorated," Jack said. "You went from coral to crystal?"

"I went from coral to copper to neon to crystal." The Doctor replied. Jack nodded.

"I like it," he said.

"Thanks."

"Doctor," Yaz said. "You said that you know who's interfering with history?" The Doctor nodded and put her hands on her hips.

"It's our old friend, Krasko," she said. Graham, Yaz, Ryan and Susan all groaned.

" _Again_?" Graham asked. "Does he have something against you, Doc?"

"He says that he's doing it to deliberately annoy me." The Doctor replied. "Trust me, he's not the first one to act like that. So, operation JFK. Stop Krasko and get Lee Harvey Oswald in the right time and place to assassinate JFK."


	3. Chapter 3

The Doctor dragged a large chalkboard out of nowhere - explaining that her previous self had used it, which Susan wasn't at all surprised about - and made a list.

"Right." The Doctor said, turning to them. "What do you know about JFK's assassination?"

"Do you want actual history or conspiracy theories?" Ryan asked. "'Cause there are a lot of conspiracy theories."

"Give me both," she replied. Graham, the only one of the three humans old enough to remember it, spoke first.

"JFK was assassinated when he was visiting Dallas, Texas on the 22nd November 1963," he said. "He was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald, who was later killed by Jack Ruby two days later on the 24th November. I was only three at the time - which is now, I guess - but I know that it was a big deal. The President of the United States getting shot on camera."

"Yep, that's the basics." said the Doctor. "So, conspiracy theories?" Ryan's face lit up.

"Ok, so the common theory is that Lee Harvey Oswald was the only shooter," said Ryan. "He had been to Russia in 1959 and wanted to renounce his American citizenship. He had been in the Marines and was a sharpshooter. Basically, he hated America and was a sharpshooter as well as being employed at the Texas School Book Depository which was along the motorcade route. However, the FBI didn't tell the Secret Service about him. Then again, they didn't know about the route because the Secret Service didn't tell them about the motorcade route so...both of them were at fault, really."

"Why wouldn't they tell each other that?" Yaz asked, going into police officer mode. "That's really important information to know, especially if the President is coming to town. I mean, if the Queen or the Prime Minister is going somewhere, they would communicate about everything."

"This is 1963," Susan said. "Things are different at this point in time."

"Plus." Ryan continued. "There was a bullet found in Texas Governor John Connally, the guy sitting in front of JFK, that belonged to the gun that was owned by Lee Harvey Oswald. Some more bullets were found on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. Lee Harvey Oswald had also tried to kill Major General Edwin A. Walker earlier that - or this - year, so he was willing to kill someone. He also killed a Dallas police officer about 45 minutes after the assassination. This was backed up by eyewitnesses and bullets belonging to a revolver which was on Lee Harvey Oswald when he was arrested."

"I mean, if you've just killed the President," Jack said. "Killing a police officer isn't going to be that big of a deal, right?"

"Right." Ryan and Yaz agreed.

"What about the magic bullet theory that's going around?" Jack asked.

"Oh yeah, that," Ryan said. "So, it was the second of the three bullets that were fired. It hit JFK in the neck, then went through Governor Connally's chest, his wrist and then landed in his thigh. However, there was a tape called the Zapruder film which showed that Lee Harvey Oswald didn't have enough time to fire two shots in the timespan so for there to have been two shots then there must have been two shooters. Connally said in an interview later on that one bullet hit JFK and a second bullet hit him. That means that the magic bullet theory is false and that there were two shooters."

"Interesting." The Doctor said. "I mean if you're going to kill someone at least have some sort of backup." The matter of fact way that she said it made Graham, Yaz, Ryan and Jack look at her, curiously - Susan and Idris rolling their eyes - before Ryan continued.

"There was also another videotape at a different angle, showing puffs of gunsmoke or a second shooter on a grassy knoll in the background." Ryan continued. "However, that second film has gone missing."

"How convenient," Susan commented.

"Ok, first conspiracy theory," said Ryan. "Lyndon B. Johnson had JFK assassinated for political gain and power."

"Sounds reasonable." The Doctor said, nodding.

"Before JFK was elected, LBJ had tried to take the Democratic nomination away from JFK," Ryan said. "He used to be the Texas Senator and he no longer had political control over Texas which was important for JFK to get re-elected. So, JFK went to Dallas to solve the political crisis. Texas was LBJ's home turf and JFK felt that LBJ should have had it handled. LBJ's right-hand man had been warned by a Texas lawyer that the political climate in Dallas wasn't safe and that he feared for JFK's safety. But JFK wasn't told of this."

"Lovely," Graham said, sarcastically. "More miscommunication."

"However, this information was also received by other officials close to JFK, including his brother Robert Kennedy," said Ryan. "There was a woman called Madeleine Brown who claimed to have an affair with LBJ. She said that she attended a party with LBJ, Richard Nixon and J. Edgar Hoover the night before JFK's assassination. So, tonight, I guess. She said that LBJ had basically told her that the President was gonna die the next day, but because his moves had been closely monitored this conversation is unlikely to have happened. Also, there's nothing really to support the theory that he had JFK assassinated."

"Still, political gain is a pretty good theory." said the Doctor.

"The second theory is that the Russians were behind JFK's assassination," said Ryan. Everyone nodded. Given the current political situation between America and Russia in the 1960s, that was a good theory. "Lee Harvey Oswald had tried to defect to Russia before and some people think that he might have been acting as a KGB agent. He was also at the Russian Embassy in Mexico City a few weeks before JFK was assassinated. However, due to his well-known connections to Russia, he wouldn't have been a good assassin to use as he would've immediately put suspicion on Russia."

"Understandable," Graham said, nodding.

"The third theory is that the mob assassinated JFK," said Ryan. "The Chicago, Miami and New Orleans mob groups separately claimed that they were responsible for JFK's assassination."

"Just because they say it doesn't mean that it's true," Yaz said.

"Robert Kennedy, being Attorney General, had made moves against organised crime and could have angered them," said Ryan. "Jack Ruby was a Dallas nightclub owner and some people think that he might have had mafia connections. Some even think that the mob was working with the CIA to carry out the assassination of JFK."

"Ah, yes," Idris said. "The good old corrupt government officials theory."

"There was a former Mafia hitman in 2015 who said that he was the second shooter and that he was part of a plot in collaboration with the mafia and the CIA to assassinate JFK. But there's no evidence to support this." Ryan said. "The biggest evidence for this theory, though, is that JFK had connections to Sam Giancana, the head of the Chicago mob. JFK's father worked with Giancana in bootlegging during the Prohibition. There's also rumours that Giancana and the mob helped JFK win the 1960 election." Graham and Yaz both suppressed a laugh.

"So, what you're saying," Yaz said. "Is that JFK became President due to a rigged election?" Ryan laughed as well.

"That's what it says," he said. "Also, in 1975 Giancana was supposed to testify about his role in a CIA assassination plot."

"Let me guess," Susan said. "He was also assassinated."

"Yes," replied Ryan.

"Well, that's not at all suspicious," she said.

"The fourth and final theory is that the CIA was responsible for the assassination of JFK," said Ryan. "Allen Dulles, the former head of the CIA, was on the Warren Commission, but the CIA deliberately withheld information." The Doctor, Graham, Yaz, Susan, Jack and Idris all rolled their eyes. "There are lots of theories as to why the CIA wanted JFK assassinated. One is that JFK found out that the CIA had a plot to assassinate Fidel Castro and that the CIA felt threatened that JFK might have a different agenda or wanted to disband them, so they plotted to assassinate him. A historian who wrote a book about JFK's assassination has the theory that four high-level agents not only planned the shooting, but three of them fired four shots during the assassination. People also think that the CIA might have picked Lee Harvey Oswald to carry out the hit as he was a known Communist and Russian sympathiser. Another theory is that, after the Bay of Pigs invasion, the CIA underwent personnel changes at the hand of JFK, which may have upset them. Also during the Bay of Pigs invasion, JFK refused to offer additional US military support despite the CIA offering an 'umbrella' of air protection. The word 'umbrella' suggests another theory that Lee Harvey Oswald was working with a potential CIA operative referred to as the Umbrella Man."

"Oh my God," Graham said. "How many CIA operatives are there in this?"

"A lot," said Ryan. "Remember the Zapruder film that was taken?"

"The one that conveniently went missing?" Susan asked.

"Yeah, that one," he said, nodding. "Well, in that, there's a lone man holding an umbrella above his head. This might seem normal at first glance, but there are two things that make it unusual. One, it wasn't raining and even though it had been raining in Dallas the night before - so, tonight - no one in any pictures had an umbrella. Two, JFK was hit by the first bullet at the same time his car passes by the Umbrella Man."

"Could just be a coincidence," Graham said.

"There's no such thing as coincidence." Ryan, Yaz, Idris, Susan, Jack and the Doctor replied.

"Also at that moment, the Umbrella Man raises his umbrella a few feet above his head," said Ryan. "This makes people believe that the umbrella was a signal to another gunman or that the umbrella itself was a spy-like weapon that could fire darts, which could explain the slight hole in JFK's neck."

"So, it's turned into James Bond now," Graham said.

"A developer for the Department of Defense Weapons testified that this umbrella weapon exists because he designed it," said Ryan. "Another JFK book author claimed that darts were fired through the umbrella's webbing when opened. Also, there are images of the umbrella being closed before and after the assassination, but during the assassination, the umbrella was clearly open as JFK passed the Umbrella Man. What's also suspicious is that after the shooting, while other people ran away the Umbrella Man and another man were sitting calmly on the curb. However, a possible explanation came from the Umbrella Man himself. He testified to the Senate Committee, bringing the umbrella with him. He said that the umbrella was a symbol of protest against JFK's father, Joseph Kennedy. The man wasn't a fan of Joseph Kennedy's appeasement policies. So, as a sign of protest, the guy used an umbrella which was associated with Neville Chamberlain who had promoted appeasement when he was Prime Minister. He also said that he only opened the umbrella when he believed that JFK could see it. Apparently, in the past people in England and America have used umbrellas as a sign of protest. When Nixon was Vice President, he banned his aides from using umbrellas for fear of having a visual link to the unpopular policy of appeasement." The Doctor and Idris nodded. "He also said that the umbrella blocked his view of JFK being assassinated." Everyone burst into laughter. "Maybe he is the Umbrella Man or maybe he's a puppet for the CIA to cover its tracks. No one knows what actually happened on November 22nd 1963 and the mystery will remain..." Yaz knew exactly where he was going with this and joined in.

"Unsolved." She and Ryan both said, before bursting into laughter. The Doctor, Graham, Susan, Jack and Idris looked at them in confusion.

"It's a web series called _Buzzfeed Unsolved_ ," Ryan explained. "They talk about unsolved cases, like the JFK assassination, and go ghost hunting."

"Sounds interesting," Jack said. "I wonder how many of those unsolved cases are due to aliens." Yaz and Ryan looked at the Doctor.

"The Lost Colony of Roanoke?" Yaz asked.

"In 1587, the Greld attacked the colony, implanting mind control devices and components of a meta-cobalt bomb in the colonists." The Doctor said. "In an alternate timeline, Sir Walter Raleigh travelled with me in the TARDIS. We travelled back four hundred years where he encountered the Semestran Interlude. He taught them how to live and hunt and, in exchange, they extended his life. Over the centuries, they terrorised and kidnapped people, including the Roanoke colonists, holding them prisoner on Croatoan. Luckily, I rewrote that timeline."

"Ok," said Ryan. "So it didn't disappear due to a zombie plague, then. What about Bigfoot? Is Bigfoot real?" The Doctor nodded.

"Yes, and her name is Geraldine," she replied. "She was upset about being filmed on a bad hair day."

"What about the Bermuda Triangle?" Yaz asked.

"My seventh self and the Sleeze Brothers might have caused it by causing the Monk's TARDIS to implode." replied the Doctor. "There's another account that says that at some point in the 1490s, a Dalek ship crash-landed on an island, creating the Bermuda Triangle. The ship may have caused magnetic disturbance and navigation instrument failure in nearby aircraft and sea vessels."

"Ok," said Yaz. "That sounds slightly more plausible than the casualties of the Bermuda Triangle now being inhabitants of the lost city of Atlantis. Unless Atlantis is real, of course."

"There are about three different versions of Atlantis," Idris said. Graham, Yaz and Ryan stared at her.

"Do I even want to ask?" Graham asked.

"No." she replied.

"When I was with the Time Agency, I was involved in the sinking of Atlantis," said Jack.

"Of course you were." said the Doctor.

"Let's just agree that any famous historical event is caused by either the Doctor or Jack," Idris said. "No, you two, do not start listing everything that you were responsible for. We need to make sure that Lee Harvey Oswald assassinates JFK."

"Right, yes. Of course." The Doctor agreed, nodding. "Ok, since we can't warn the Secret Service or the local FBI office, we'll have to deal with Krasko and Lee Harvey Oswald ourselves."

"Well, I'm not going to try to convince Lee Harvey Oswald to kill the President," Graham said. "It's a bit different from the situation with Rosa Parks."

"So, where is Lee Harvey Oswald right now?" Yaz asked.

"Today he's going to ask his co-worker Wesley Frazier for an unusual mid-week lift back to Irving, saying that he had to pick up some curtain rods," Idris replied. "However, I'm sensing that he hasn't left yet due to Krasko."

"What happens if JFK isn't assassinated?" Jack asked, curiously.

"Oh, lots of things could have changed," Idris replied. "The 1964 election where he could have been re-elected, or not if his ties to the mob were discovered. The Vietnam War may or may not have gone in a different direction. The 1964 Civil Rights Act might not have been passed. The Cold War could have been ended sooner as Kennedy would have worked with Nikita Khrushchev to reduce the world's nuclear arsenal. Their alliance might even have affected the Space Race."

"So, good points and bad points," Jack said. She nodded.

"We still need to make sure that he dies, though," she said.


	4. Chapter 4

It ended up being the Doctor and Idris going to see Krasko and Susan, Jack, Graham, Yaz and Ryan going to see Lee Harvey Oswald.

The Doctor had put Susan and Graham in charge just to make sure that Jack didn't start flirting with every person he saw. She also decided that it would be a good idea for her and Idris to be the ones to talk to Krasko as they knew best how to deal with him.

Idris thought that this was a good idea, considering what had happened when the Doctor had confronted Krasko in Montgomery. The Doctor still wouldn't allow Graham, Yaz and Ryan to see her like that.

Susan and Jack assured Graham, Yaz and Ryan that the two of them would handle persuading Lee Harvey Oswald to assassinate JFK. It was one thing getting James Blake to drive the bus with Rosa Parks, it was another thing persuading someone to kill the President. Susan and Jack were time travellers so knew best how to deal with situations like this.

* * *

Susan, Jack, Graham, Yaz and Ryan headed towards Lee Harvey Oswald's apartment.

"So, what's the plan when we find him?" Yaz asked.

"Improvise," Susan said. "If Krasko has already managed to divert him from his plan, we'll have to persuade him otherwise."

"I'm very persuasive," Jack said. She sighed.

"I expect you've heard this from Grandfather lots of times, but do _not_ start flirting!" she exclaimed. Yaz and Ryan laughed and Graham rolled his eyes.

"Have you ever ended up in a period of history where you have to let someone die?" Graham asked her.

"15th century Mexico. Barbara wanted to alter history, but Grandfather told her that there would be consequences," she replied. "And the French Revolution, which was Grandfather's favourite period in Earth history. He was very strict about not interfering with history. Now though? It seems that they're the cause of every famous event in history."

"The French Revolution?" asked Graham. "What was that like?"

"Absolute chaos," she replied. "I ended up in jail. I was ill and I was about to be executed at the guillotine. Luckily, I managed to get out of there."

"If you had been executed, I presume you would have regenerated?" Jack asked.

"I presume so." she agreed, nodding. "I never passed the Academy, but I'm sure that Grandfather would have persuaded the High Council to activate my regeneration cycle." He nodded. She looked up at the building in front of them. "Here we are."

The five of them walked into the building and to the door of Lee Harvey Oswald. Susan knocked on the door and it opened.

"Lee Harvey Oswald?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied. "Can I help you?"

"Can we come in?" she asked. "We want to talk to you about tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Oswald asked.

"We know your plan," Jack said. He and Susan looked at Oswald, who realised what they were talking about.

"Come in," he said.

"We'll keep watch out here," Graham said. "Make sure no one interrupts you."

"Thank you, Graham," Susan said, nodding before she and Jack walked into Oswald's apartment.

* * *

The Doctor and Idris arrived back at Krasko's headquarters and the Doctor opened the door using the sonic screwdriver.

"Krasko." The Doctor said. "We meet again."

"Doctor," Krasko replied. Idris rolled her eyes at how dramatic the two of them were being. "I assume your friends are going to persuade Lee Harvey Oswald to kill Kennedy?"

"That's right," Idris replied. "Jack is very persuasive." The Doctor laughed.

"Jack?" asked Krasko.

"Captain Jack Harkness, former Time Agent." The Doctor replied. Krasko shifted around. "Oh, you have heard of him then. Good. Susan's also there. Remember her?" Krasko nodded. "So you've got Susan, Graham, Yaz, Ryan and Jack convincing Lee Harvey Oswald that he has to assassinate JFK."

"Meanwhile, you're stuck here with us," Idris said.

"Is that supposed to scare me?" he asked.

"You are scared, but you're pretending that you're not," said Idris. "I can sense it." He scoffed.

"I'm not scared." he lied.

"Yes, you are." The Doctor replied, stepping forward. He copied her and they ended up face to face, Idris watching cautiously from the side. "I know you said that you're doing this just to annoy me, but whatever the actual reason is it's not worth it." He smirked. "What?" she asked, annoyed.

"I'm just the lackey," he said. "I'm not the one who's _really_ trying to get your attention."


	5. Chapter 5

The Doctor sighed. If Krasko was actually working for someone else, then she would have to up her game.

"You're going to have to be more specific," she said. "I've pissed off a lot of people over the years. Or centuries, depending on how you look at it." She looked at him. "But something tells me you're not going to tell me who it is."

"That's correct," Krasko replied, still smirking. Idris stepped forward and punched him in the face.

"Listen, Krasko," she said. "Why don't you just leave 1963 and go tell whoever you're working for that if they want the Doctor's attention, to just call her and deal with it face to face. Just the two of them. No one else gets involved."

"Oh yes, you want to make sure that your friends and your granddaughter are safe," he said. Without looking, Idris held the Doctor back.

"Whatever's going on, this is between your boss and the Doctor. No one else!" Idris exclaimed. "Go and tell your boss to have it out with the Doctor face to face. Just the two of them. Understand?" Krasko nodded.

"Understood," he said, stepping back. "Goodbye." He pressed the button on his vortex manipulator and disappeared. The Doctor and Idris looked at where he had stood then the Doctor moved away and sat down on a bench.

"Shit," she said, putting her head in her hands. Idris sat down next to her and put her arm around her.

"It'll be ok, Doctor," she said. The Doctor shook her head.

"They're in danger." The Doctor said. "Graham. Yaz. Ryan. Susan." She looked up. "Wait a minute. Krasko was in the 23rd century. That means whoever he's working for knows that Susan's my granddaughter."

"Well, at least that narrows it down," said Idris. "Doctor, don't do anything reckless."

"Reckless?" asked the Doctor. "We had this conversation in the 23rd century, remember? Not a lot of people know about me and Susan being related. That means it's someone who really _knows_ me."

"Ian, Tegan and Kate are on Earth. Barbara, Sarah and the Brigadier have passed away. Lucie and River are dead. Turlough is on Trion. The Master and the Monk are who knows where." said Idris. "Those two would have to have a death wish to use Susan to get to you."

"The Time Lords wouldn't hesitate." said the Doctor. "They know how much I care about her. That's why we left Gallifrey in the first place!" She stood up and started pacing up and down, angrily.

" _Doctor_!" Idris exclaimed, standing up and blocking her path. The Doctor tried to get around her, but Idris moved along with her. "Susan will be _fine_! So will Graham, Yaz and Ryan." The Doctor stopped pacing and looked at her, her anger turning to worry.

"I don't want to lose anyone," she whispered. "Not again. Grace. Bill. Clara. Amy. Rory. River. Donna. Lucie. Kamelion. Adric. Sara. Katarina."

"Grace." Idris reminded her. "She's the first person you've lost shortly after regenerating. You're carrying that guilt around with you. Doctor, you need to tell Susan, Graham, Yaz and Ryan about this. The situation with Krasko and your guilt over Grace's death." The Doctor looked hesitant. "Come on, Doctor. This version of you has been making up for your past selves' mistakes. You gave Team TARDIS a choice about if they wanted to travel with you. You let Susan make her own choice about whether she wanted to stay with you. You've kept secrets from your friends before and it's backfired. Tell them about Krasko and his boss. Tell them how you're feeling about Grace." The Doctor continued to look at her in silence before hugging her.

"Thank you, Idris," she said. "I know I can always count on you." She pulled out of the hug and looked at Idris. "You're right. I should tell them."

"I will keep reminding you to do it if you decide not to do so," said Idris, smiling. The Doctor smiled back.

"I know," she said. "We should probably go and check on them. See how they're getting on."

* * *

Susan and Jack were getting on rather well. As they had discussed beforehand, both were very persuasive; Susan with her telepathy (having been taught by the Master when she was younger on how to use her telepathic abilities to influence people) and Jack with his flirting.

It turned out that Lee Harvey Oswald had met Krasko, who had convinced him not to kill JFK the next day. Susan and Jack had then started giving all of the historical (not that Lee Harvey Oswald knew that) reasons as to why he should kill JFK: the current political climate meaning that Russia would benefit and that the CIA and the Mafia would benefit.

Lee Harvey Oswald already possessed the rifle that he would later use to kill JFK - a 6.5x52mm Carcano Model 91/38 infantry rifle - and already knew where he would set up his sniper nest, thanks to the newspapers having already published the route that JFK's motorcade would be taking (that still didn't explain why the local FBI office didn't inform the Secret Service of Lee Harvey Oswald, but neither Susan or Jack decided to think about it too much). All it needed was a persuasive push to make Lee Harvey Oswald decide that, yes, he should kill JFK the next day.

As Jack was talking to him, Susan felt a wave of psychic energy coming from her grandmother's mind. The Doctor was distressed. She made sure to keep her facial expression the same as she spoke to Lee Harvey Oswald, but she knew that something had worried her grandmother. She could sense that Idris was calming her down, which the Doctor eventually did do. Susan made a mental note to speak to her grandmother about it later on.

Jack gave her a curious side glance. She didn't know if he was telepathic in any way, but he could at least see that something was up.

 _Something else wrong?_ he asked her, telepathically. Presumably, it was his time spent with the Doctor that made him able to communicate telepathically. 

_Something to do with Grandmother._ Susan replied. _I'll speak to her about it later._

* * *

Outside the apartment, Graham, Yaz and Ryan were talking, partly about the situation and partly about other unrelated stuff.

"It's weird to think that I'm a three-year-old back in Essex right now," said Graham. "It'd be another thirty-five years before the two of you are born."

"Yeah, it is weird." Ryan agreed. "So, what do you make of Captain Jack?"

"He's alright," Yaz said.

"Yeah, he's alright," Graham said.

"I'm trying to imagine him travelling with the Doctor," Ryan said, grinning. "I can't imagine it."

"I mean, if he's managed to put up with the Doc then he's clearly able to deal with aliens," replied Graham.

"Do you think he's flirting with Lee Harvey Oswald?" Yaz asked, grinning. Graham and Ryan laughed at the thought of it. The door opened and Susan and Jack walked back out.

"What's so funny?" Jack asked.

"Oh, just wondering if you were flirting in there," Graham said.

"I was a bit, yes," replied Jack, grinning.

"Is everything back on track?" Yaz asked. Susan nodded.

"Yes, everything's back on track," she replied. "We need to go and find Grandmother, tell her that everything's back to normal." _As well as ask her what happened earlier._


	6. Chapter 6

Susan, Graham, Yaz, Ryan and Jack headed back to the TARDIS. The Doctor and Idris looked up as they came in.

"Everything's sorted?" The Doctor asked.

"Yes, everything's sorted," Susan replied, nodding. "Grandmother, what happened earlier? I felt a wave of distress coming from you."

"Oh, it was nothing." said the Doctor. Idris cleared her throat and put her hands on her hips.

"Doctor," Jack said. "If something's wrong, you should tell us. You weren't very good at that in the past."

"Exactly." Idris and Susan agreed. The Doctor sighed and turned to Susan.

"It turns out that Krasko is working for someone who wants to get my attention," she explained. "Someone who knows that you're my granddaughter." Susan's eyes widened.

"Oh," she said. "Do you know who it is?" The Doctor shook her head.

"I thought that it could be the Time Lords, but this wouldn't be their style at all," she replied. "The Master and the Monk would have to have a death wish to try and use you as bait." She sighed. "I guess time will tell. It always does. This isn't the first time someone has targeted a person close to me." Susan hugged her.

"It'll be ok, Grandmother," she said. "We'll help you."

"No." The Doctor said. "If someone this close to me is targeting me, I don't want any of you to be a part of it."

"But can we at least help you figure out who's doing this?" asked Susan.

"I suppose you can." replied the Doctor, then she turned to Jack. "Jack, do you want me to drop you off somewhere?"

"Just drop me off anywhere," he said. The Doctor set the TARDIS to random then turned to Graham and Ryan.

"I'm also feeling guilty over Grace's death," she said. "She's the first person I've lost shortly after regenerating."

"She died protecting people, Doc," said Graham.

"She's not the only one who's done that." The Doctor muttered, thinking of her fifth self protecting Peri, her ninth self protecting Rose, her tenth self protecting Wilf. Then she raised her voice to its normal level. "I just want to keep all of you safe."

"You will," Susan said. The Doctor smiled at her.

"You're always so optimistic," she said.

"One of us has to be," replied Susan, smiling back.

* * *

The next day on 22nd November 1963, at 12:30 pm, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald.

* * *

The day after that, on 23rd November 1963, in Shoreditch, London, the First Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara flew off in the TARDIS for the first time.

* * *

Elsewhere, Krasko spoke to the mysterious woman who had sent him to 1963.

"The Doctor knows," he said.

" _Good_." The woman replied. " _That should get her guard up._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next episode: Attack of the Krians
> 
> The Doctor, Graham, Yaz, Ryan and Susan answer a distress call from the home planet of the Krian, a warrior race, and the Doctor and Susan face a figure from their past.


End file.
